Carpenter pitches complete game for Cardinals

Jun 5, 2009 - 4:06 AM
ST. LOUIS(AP) -- Chris Carpenter liked what he saw right from the
start.

Carpenter took advantage of Cincinnati's free swingers, pitching
a three-hitter for his first complete game in more than two
years, and Albert Pujols took care of the offense with a two-run
homer and RBI double as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Reds
3-1 on Thursday night.

"They showed it from the beginning of the game that they were
going to be aggressive early in the count, they weren't going to
let me get deep," he said. "I was able to make good quality
pitches down in the strike zone. That's what happens when you
get an aggressive team that wants to hit and you're able to make
quality pitches, you're going to be able to get quick outs."

The victory gave St. Louis a split of the four-game series and
put the Cardinals in a tie for first in the National League
Central with Milwaukee, which lost to the Florida Marlins.

Carpenter (4-0) needed just 95 pitches for his 26th complete
game and first since September 11, 2006, at Houston. With the
help of two double plays, he faced the minimum through 7 2-3
innings. Carpenter's ERA rose to 0.71 ERA.

Laynce Nix spoiled the shutout bid with his 18th homer to right
field in the eighth.

Since returning from the disabled list May 20 with an oblique
injury, Carpenter has allowed three earned runs and 14 hits in
28 innings. For Pujols, it was another Carpenter gem that didn't
command too much analysis.

"It's not rocket science," Pujols said. "Look at the job he did.
He made one mistake the whole game and Nix is swinging the bat
really good, took advantage and hit it out of the park."

Carpenter had retired 12 straight before Nix's hit. He struck
out three, walked none and singled in the seventh for his first
hit of the year. He gave up singles to Chris Dickerson in the
first and third, but got Brandon Phillips to ground into double
plays both times to end the inning.

Aaron Harang (5-6) went the distance in losing his second
straight. He gave up eight hits, striking out three and walking
two in eight innings. He handled the Cardinals well in a 8-3
victory May 9 at Busch, spreading seven hits in seven innings
and striking out seven.

This time around, Pujols didn't give Harang a chance to settle
in.

"Just the way he's swinging right now," Harang said. "He's being
aggressive, he wasn't letting me get any counts on him. He was
coming right after me. He knows I'm going to go right at him and
I'm not going to nitpick with him. He took advantage of that."

Pujols' 17th homer to left-center came one out after Skip
Schumacker singled to lead off the third. He drove in his 48th
run of the year with a double off the left-field wall that
scored Colby Rasmus in the sixth, marking the fifth consecutive
game in which Pujols has doubled.

He has now reached base at least twice in 15 consecutive games
to tie Keith Hernandez's streak in 1980. They are the longest
such streaks in 50 years for the Cardinals.

The homer came on Harang's first offering of the at-bat.

"It was a good pitch to hit and I put the best swing on it of
the day," Pujols said.

The Reds finished their seven-game road trip with a 2-5 record,
including a three-game sweep at Milwaukee, putting them 2 1/2
games behind the Cardinals and Milwaukee. They return home for a
three-game set against Chicago starting Friday before a six-game
road trip.

Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said there's not reason to dwell
on the recent slide.

"You got to move on. You got no choice," he said. "They say good
pitching beats good hitting and that was a great pitching
performance tonight. Aaron was good, but Carpenter was better."

Notes: The last time the Reds played a game in which both
starters went the distance was August 26, 2004, when Harang beat
Carpenter 1-0. ... Thursday marked Harang's 200th career start
and is now 74-72 in his career. ... Jay Bruce finished the Reds'
seven-game road trip 1 for 27, hitless in his last 17. ... The
Cardinals are 8-0 on Thursdays.

NLAT ST LOUIS - SCORING UPDATESOLO HOME RUN BY LAYNCE NIX (7) TO RIGHT WITH 2 OUT IN THE 8TH OFF CHRIS CARPENTER.CURRENT SCORE: CINCINNATI 1, ST LOUIS 3DUE UP FOR CINCINNATI: A GONZALEZ (.216, 0-FOR-2)